The Hobbit!

So, long before I had Babybee, Boybee and I had made plans to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in the theaters on it's opening weekend. Grandfatherbee was lined up to watch our girl, and we got tickets in the fancy 21+ comfy pleather recliners and dinner theater. We even read The Hobbit (for the umpteenth time in preparation).

Some background, it took us 6 hours and two movie theaters to see the movie (the first hour or so of which I watched twice). The saga of seeing the movie was almost more interesting that the film itself. That experience really colored my opinion of the film, so I'm going to need to see it again to get a better feel for it, I think :P. 

My review with spoilers below the jump!

Breastfeeding in Public

I have approximately 77 billion things to say on the topic of bodies, shame, sexuality, motherhood, breastfeeding, public health, obesity, body image, sex, gender, etc. So today, I am going to try to keep a narrow focus on one thing that is pretty important in my day-to-day: Breastfeeding in public.

I think I finally understand the Republican electorate... and, well, maybe it's not what I thought it was.

I want to post this poem, in it's entirety because it just about blew my mind today.

Evolution is a thing

By Will Femia

  - Adapted from the Rachel Maddow Show 11/7/12

Ohio really did go to the president last night.

And he really did win.
And he really was born in Hawaii.
And he really is -legitimately- President of the United States.
Again.

And the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not make-up a fake unemployment rate last month.
And the Congressional Research Service really can find no evidence
That cutting taxes on rich people grows the economy.

And the polls were not skewed to over-sample Democrats.
And Nate Silver was not making up fake projections about the election
To make conservatives feel bad.
He was doing math.

And climate change is real.
And rape really does cause pregnancy sometimes.
And evolution is a thing.
And Benghazi was an attack on us.
It was not a scandal by us.

And no one is taking away anyone's guns.
And taxes haven't gone up.
And the deficit is dropping, actually.
And Saddam Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction.

And the moon landing was real.
And FEMA isn't building concentration camps.
And UN election observers aren't taking over Texas.
And moderate reforms of the regulations on the insurance industry
And the financial services industry
Are not the same thing as communism.

Listen

... People really believe all of that... People, smart, capable people, some of whom I love BELIEVE things have or have not happened that are blatantly false. I'm not big into Truth, with a capital T - I'm all about everyone honoring their personal experience, but this? This? Yeah "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics" but... there's a reason why we use math - it works. There is a reason why we use the scientific process - it works. 

I don't consider myself a "Democrat" and I think that our government functions best with multiple opposing viewpoints getting a place at the debate. To me, that's Democracy. But, how can I take someone seriously, even consider voting for them, if they believe (or at least are beholden to folks who believe) that science is some Liberal plot? That's not even getting started on the people who want to debate my personhood, my menstrual cycle, or who think that politicians have any say in what goes in my vagina. 

There's a lot that I don't agree with in the status quo and a lot that I don't know exactly what I think is the right way to do things, and I want to see a debate on those issues. The issues that matter and that are subject to discussion. What I do with my body, whether or not children go hungry, or who I love, or who "deserves" healthcare or whether or not science works... those things are just not up for debate. Instead can we talk about how to feed those hungry children or how to ensure that all bodies get good quality health care or the role of the US in the world? 

I really really hope that what I'm seeing as one party of moderate-left folks who don't always think things through and one party with some rich guys who like power and a bunch of crazy-pants conspiracy theorists and religious zealots who are under the impression that their God hates thinking. Conspiracy theorists CANNOT be the ones tasked with holding the government accountable. I am praying for a seachange within the GOP so that I can one day consider voting for them. 

Vaccines: What they are, how they work, and why they are important

Pertussis, aka whooping cough, is a pretty nasty illness. Most healthy adults will survive it - with a trip to the doctor or even a short stay in the hospital, so it's no picnic. However, babies, small children, old folks, or people with weak immune systems don't always survive getting whooping cough. It's scary and kills people sometimes. You might be thinking "OMG! How can I protect myself and my loved ones from such a scourge?!" and you are in luck! Through the marvels of modern medicine and SCIENCE we have a way to combat this and MANY other nasty illnesses! Vaccines! Hooray! 

Fall!

August passed me by about as quickly as I expected and all at once, one day it's fall! To celebrate we went around to various friends' houses picking apples on Saturday and then broke in our awesome new grinder and press to make hard cider Sunday. We got ~16 gallons of juice and still have a few trees left to hit. We had many friends over Sunday for the juicing and then grilled burgers and brats. It was a good day. It's really spectacular that the things we like to do for fun are baby/kid friendly and that so many of our friends have babies (there were 3 babies at our house Sunday!).

My tiny Babybee is getting huge already! She's outgrown all of the "newborn" clothing and starting to hulk-out of some of the 0-3 month stuff. It's kind of awesome. I see her everyday, all day, and still she is growing so fast that I can see it. She's 60th percentile for height and weight, but 80th for head circumference - she is definitely her father's daughter! Cue Gir:

In a couple of weeks, we'll be taking her to her first SCA event which is exciting. It's a camping event, but we're planning to get a hotel room near the site. It should be a good time. :)

UGAIS. I'M SOMEONE'S MOM.

I have completed the pregnancy quest and leveled up!  I'm multi-classing now and just took my first level of Mom. It comes with the Breastfeeding feat and Diaper Changing as a class skill. In a couple of levels, I will get the Eyes in the Back of My Head feat and The Mom Look feat, both of which I'm looking forward to! :)

I didn't post much in July mainly because most of my thoughts were along the lines of "I am so pregnant. When will I have this baby already?" and that's kind of boring. I saw Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises and enjoyed both - it's crazy, but the next movie I will see in theaters is not going to be until The Hobbit in December (we're already in talks with Grandparents-Bee for baby sitting when it comes out). 

Sadly, since Babybee came on the late side, she and I will not be able to attend GenCon this year. In happier news, I have decided on a Halloween costume for us! Every year, friends throw a huge Halloween party with a costume theme. Past themes have included Villains (I went as Catwoman), Circus (I went as cotton candy), and The Sea (I went as The Sea! complete with a pirate ship hat). This year's theme is Folk Tales and Babybee and I will be going as St. Margaret and the Dragon. For those not hip to medieval Catholicism, St. Margaret of Antioch is the patron saint of laboring women because after being swallowed by a Dragon she burst forth from it's belly unharmed. Ideally, I would be the Dragon since Babybee is the one who did all the belly bursting, but I got a hand-me-down 3 month size dinosaur costume from a friend which I can tweak the tiniest bit to make into a dragon and then I have medieval garb for me. I figure it will be easy enough to put these costumes together while taking care of my Level One Human (Str 0 and Con 2, but Cha at 18 because Baby). Boybee is trying to figure out how he can go as Mr. Spock for the third year in a row - Oy. 

Brave was so good! Go See It!

The title of this post really says it all. Brave, the new pixar movie, was so good. Funny without relying on fart jokes, heart-warming, gorgeous, and just good story-telling.

There has been a lot of noise about this movie because this Disney Princess has issues with conforming to gender roles and the drama comes from her *not* wanting to get married rather than waiting for 'her prince to come.' But honestly, what I like the most about this movie is how little time it spends caring about all of that. This movie is really about a girl who screws up royally (pun intended) and who then goes on a quest to fix things to save herself and her family.

There's magic, there's a big scary bear, there's hilarious little brothers, there's real character development, and there is no Big Bad to defeat just the characters own insecurities, fears, and interpersonal issues to overcome.

Everyone's been talking about how this is a movie that girls should see because *FINALLY* we have a Disney Princess who doesn't suck, but really, if you ask me, this is a movie that BOYS should see (arguably more than girls) because we finally have a Disney Princess who doesn't suck. Plus, this is one of the best depictions of Fatherhood in a kids movie that I have ever seen. Merida's dad, the King, saves his daughter and wife from the big scary bear and maybe has a bit of a Capt. Ahab complex but we never doubt his prowess or bravery. He's the one who listens to and respects his daughter, while loving and respecting his wife as well. He works to bridge their feud and brings humor to the situation. Also, though the Clan Leaders are goofy stereotypes, the teenage boys felt... so real. Like, I know those boys - I swear I was in BBYO with Lord Macintosch's son.

TL;DR Version: Brave was so good! Go see it! :)